Why can't humans do it too?

What kind of cataclysmic change could allow a square world to evolve into a spherical world—even expanding the curtain-like universe as if it had gained a real body?

Oh, and what about those monsters I know? Are they still alive?

Thinking of this, Suer suddenly became uncertain again. Even though most yokai have a relatively long lifespan compared to humans, their lifespan is still limited. Even though Yukari Yakumo is a yokai with a special race, can she be an exception?

However, based on the details observed so far, it seems that human society in this world doesn't currently possess any extraordinary powers on the surface.

[Yukari Yakumo is presumably dead.]

Xin Ke made a guess.

Chapter Ninety Good Things Come in Pairs

Given the sheer absurdity of their current experiences, even Xin Ke couldn't offer any reliable advice.

"...Is it really okay to conclude that someone is dead just like that?" Su'er said speechlessly. "What if the other person is still alive? For example, sleeping in some underground cave or being sealed away until now. It's normal for monsters to do this kind of thing in order to survive, right?"

Although he spoke of monsters, what floated in Su'er's mind were all sorts of vampire legends.

“That’s true, but it’s unlikely,” Xin Ke said, drifting towards the moon. “It seems that even gods don’t exist in this era anymore. It looks like a terrible disaster must have happened. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed their existence to be dismissed as an illusion by humans.”

Xin Ke's sigh contained no sympathy. They all knew that the gods they were referring to were more like humans than gods. They didn't care about dirty tricks like sneak attacks or drugging; as long as they could win, they could be revered as war gods and even enjoy temple worship. It was utterly ridiculous.

Compared to these Japanese gods, even the Greek gods are moral exemplars... Well, is it a case of the crow laughing at the pig?

It's a bit of a stretch to force people to compare which is better.

“Indeed,” Suer nodded in agreement, recalling the appearance of the gods in Yamato and Izumo. “But they might also be hiding because of some danger, just like Takamagahara, which closed its gates.”

“Yes, indeed. From this perspective, it seems a bit reckless for us to rush straight out like this,” Xin Ke said, stroking her chin.

If something truly exists that frightens gods and monsters into hiding... what could it be?

A world-destroying monster?

"Let's go back first. I still have some doubts about that well," Suer said, keeping this suspicion in mind for the time being.

"Then let's just dig it up," Xin Ke suggested, holding up a finger. "Let's turn over the whole patch of ground and see what's underneath."

"...Just don't let it be anything dangerous."

Suer was somewhat tempted. He took one last look at the bright star, the grey moon, and the twinkling stars in the universe, and then returned in the direction he had come from.

This triggered a flurry of alarms.

--------------

Instead of heading straight back to the library, Suer and Xinke stood at the very spot where he had stood when he first arrived in this era—at the bottom of the well.

The little girl in the sailor uniform is no longer here.

Suer immediately began digging.

Some broken pieces of wood and burlap were thrown directly out of the well, and in the process, they discovered another unusual place.

Although the well was sealed with a cover, there were still gaps that allowed enough air and rainwater to fall in. Of course, the environment inside the well could not be a vacuum or sterile environment. However, the wooden planks and linen that were turned out and looked like they had a long history still retained their toughness, as if the time that had passed on them had never changed.

There was no decay or rot. After brushing away the dust, Suer even saw whitish engravings on one of the wooden boards, which was still slightly damp to the touch.

They carried the soil layer by layer along the bottom of the well wall until they unearthed a skeleton, but nothing unusual happened. This left Xin Ke and Su Er, who had been on guard, feeling rather disappointed... their vigilance had been for nothing.

"...Tyrannosaurus Rex?"

"……monster?"

"?"

After a moment of silence, Suer and Xinke simultaneously guessed.

Meeting Xin Ke's sharp gaze, Su Er chuckled dryly and said, "I was wrong. Although I can't tell what kind it is, it should definitely be a monster's bone."

The bones, curled up in a ball, seemed to indicate that the monster died peacefully, without any sense of struggling to survive. Although it was somewhat miraculous to dig out the monster's remains, to be honest, finding bones in this well was something the two of them had expected.

These amusing little jokes between them disappeared as Suer dug deeper and wider.

"Should we continue digging?" With a sigh, Suer turned to Xinke for her opinion.

“No need,” Xin Ke said, glancing around. “There’s not much point in digging any further… if all we’re digging up is the same stuff.”

Under Suer's control, the soil in the well was not so much dug out of the well as it flowed out of the well on its own, so it did not take long.

In this underground cavern illuminated by the light of magic, a mountain of white bones lay before Suer. Some were large, some small, some resembled beasts, some resembled humans, and there were even a few skeletons that were almost indistinguishable from modern human skeletons. Suer suspected that they were the remains of gods—why were they all buried here?

On what exactly does this shrine sit?

Battlefield? Slaughterhouse? Cemetery?

These skeletons are just skeletons; they have long lost any demonic energy or ability to cause anything unusual. The only unusual thing about them is that, like the wooden planks, they have not decayed over time.

Suddenly looking up, Suer sensed something approaching and immediately perked up his ears.

"Grandpa, are these things enough to ward off evil spirits?"

"Haha, the most important thing is still to be devout to the gods."

Sull remembered that the former was the voice of the little girl who had driven him away, while the latter was the slightly hoarse voice of an old man.

"Piety—but, but isn't it unnecessary to perform a grand ceremony? This is too simple!"

"Don't worry, Kagome, didn't we just check? It's just that the lid was lifted. We can just put the talisman back on."

"And that man! That man!"

The little girl was making a lot of noise, perfectly embodying the vigor of a middle school student.

"Don't worry, when monsters come to our door, just treat them to a meal. This is my advice based on my experience."

"What kind of experience is this?! Ah! Grandpa, have you ever seen a monster?! What do monsters look like?!"

"Hmm... He's a shameless scoundrel who brazenly stole your drink right in front of you even though it was only the first time we met. He's also incredibly lecherous. Kagome, you'd better not meet him."

"What? There's no such monster! Grandpa's just lying to me!"

"Hahaha, this is no joke, Grandpa..."

The grandfather and grandson were leisurely chatting as they walked towards the back of the shrine, while Suer and Xinke below were silently exchanging glances.

Before long, a little girl named Kagome and her grandfather came over. The laughter and chatter that had been filled with the affection between the grandfather and granddaughter came to an abrupt end in an instant—they had both seen the mountain piled up next to the well.

A mountain made of soil.

Chapter Ninety-One: Keenness

Bang!

The movement of pulling out the chair was a bit too forceful, so much so that people around him cast disapproving glances. Suer could only respond with an apologetic smile, and then quietly sat down.

"You're finally back. I thought you'd encountered some kind of unavoidable accident, and I was hesitating whether to ask a kind person to go in and check on you," Hanekawa Tsubasa said, looking up from her book and adjusting her glasses.

Even though Suer moved very quickly, it still took a bit too long compared to normal toilet activities.

“…I brought paper, and I’m very grateful for your kindness,” Sue replied after a slight pause. He had already recalled the reason he had given before rushing out of Earth’s atmosphere after seeing the encyclopedia’s description of the Earth and the Moon.

On the bright side, at least Hanekawa Tsubasa imagined that he didn't have any toilet paper, rather than that he was constipated and trapped in the toilet or something.

“Um… what I actually wanted to say was that you suddenly developed some kind of acute illness…” Tsubasa Hanekawa tilted her head slightly, looking very troubled. “You know, coronary heart disease, acute gastroenteritis, anemia-induced syncope, and so on…”

Words that leave one wanting more.

Suer: "..."

"I won't faint on the toilet," Su Er calmly picked up the encyclopedia she had previously put aside and assured her expressionlessly. "By the way, there's no need to address me with such formalities, just call me by my name—you know I'm not Japanese, so there's no need to get so hung up on polite formalities."

"Understood, Suer," Hanekawa Tsubasa said, pretending not to notice Suer's slight embarrassment. She simply nodded and then lightly tapped her shoulder with her index finger, smiled slightly, and went back to reading her book.

"?"

What does this mean?

Why does this girl act like a guy in green from Gotham?

Look down... Ah, I know.

Xin Ke spoke in her heart, and as Su Er looked down at herself, she understood what this human female was implying.

【Shoulder.】

On Suer's shoulder, there was a black stain, undoubtedly the freshest soil, still damp.

There's no way there could be fresh soil in the city's largest library.

Wow, you've got a good eye for observation!

Xin Ke commented with a smile, showing no alarm at all because of Su Er's slight flaw.

'Assassin? Agent? What do you think she would imagine me to be?' Suer thought to himself, finding it somewhat amusing.

[Is this some kind of crazy foreigner who would deliberately bring fresh soil into the toilet and smear it on his clothes to pretend he has a secret, all to attract the hearts of naive foreign girls?]

Xin Ke gave a guess that saddened Su Er, and he decided to ignore this woman for the rest of the day... at least for this minute.

--------------

While Xin Ke was mentally commenting on the contents of the books they had read, Su Er's page-turning speed remained unchanged from the beginning. For ordinary people, it would be a showy page-turning, generally referred to as quantum speed reading, but for him, it was still a piece of cake.